Beiguan Village. Hot Pot and Grill Restaurant!
At 6:30 p.m., Li Yi was busy working in the shop when he suddenly heard the roar of a car engine outside.
Looking up, Li Yi saw a Jeep pull right up in front of his shop.
He didn’t even need to check the license plate to know it had to be Jiang Longcheng.
There was no doubt about it—the only person bold enough to park right in front of his shop was Jiang Longcheng.
Sure enough, the door opened, and Li Yi saw Jiang Longcheng step out of the car.
But he wasn’t alone; Ye Jianhua got out with him.
Soon, the two of them walked into the shop together.
As soon as they walked in, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t wait to say, “Brother-in-law, hurry up and find a private room, and slice a few pounds of beef!”
Hearing this, a scene from *Water Margin*—specifically Li Kui dining at an inn—suddenly popped into Li Yi’s mind for no apparent reason.
Shaking off this comical thought, Li Yi smiled and said, “You two go ahead and find any private room to wait in. I’ll make the arrangements and be right over!”
“Alright!”
Soon, Li Yi had arranged for the beef and lamb Jiang Longcheng had requested, then carried a charcoal brazier to the private room Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua had chosen.
As soon as Li Yi arrived, he heard Jiang Longcheng say, puffing on a cigarette, “Brother-in-law, the place is a bit quiet today!”
“It is a bit quiet. It’s probably because we were closed for a few days recently. Things should pick up again in a few days!” Li Yi replied.
“Oh, I see. Well, that puts my mind at ease!”
Li Yi then looked at Ye Jianhua and asked, “Why did you come alone? Where’s your wife?”
“She’s got something to do today. Besides, it wouldn’t be appropriate to bring her along when it’s just us guys hanging out!” Ye Jianhua said with a laugh.
“What’s so inappropriate about it? We’re not planning to do anything out of line!” Li Yi said.
“It’s still not appropriate. With a woman around, she’ll be nagging about this and that—it’s too much trouble!”
“What, are you already fed up after just a few days of marriage?” Li Yi asked with a laugh.
“No, I usually bring Ying’er along to social events, but when we just go out to relax occasionally, I don’t bring her,” Ye Jianhua said.
Li Yi didn’t press the issue further, though he was a bit worried that Ye Jianhua might end up hurting Lin Ying just as he had in his past life, ultimately bringing ruin upon himself as well.
But he’d already given him a heads-up about this before. Whether they lived a life as sweet as honey or as miserable as dog shit was entirely up to them.
“Third Brother mentioned this morning that you’d be stopping by tonight. Is it just to chat, or do you have something specific to discuss?”
Ye Jianhua smiled and said, “Nothing much. I just wanted to talk to you about Zhang Ergou!”
“What’s up?”
“Zhang Ergou’s dad is under investigation!”
Upon hearing this, Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly asked, “Was it the Ye family or the Du family who pulled the strings?”
“The Du family!”
Then Ye Jianhua said with a look of amazement, “Brother-in-law, that move of yours—using the wolf to devour the tiger and killing with someone else’s knife—was truly brilliant. I’d only just had someone quietly leak the news that Du Haicheng was being used as a pawn, and before long, someone had already started investigating the matter.”
“Soon after, Zhu Qiwen, Gou Daocheng, Yang Xueli, and those other turncoats were all sentenced, and Zhu Qiwen’s father was demoted too!”
“And just yesterday, Zhang Ergou was summoned from his workplace by the authorities to assist with an investigation—it’s causing quite a stir at our office! Once they looked into it, they found out that Zhang Ergou’s father, who holds a position in another city, was under investigation, and he got dragged into it too!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Longcheng slapped Li Yi on the shoulder and exclaimed excitedly, “Brother-in-law, you’re truly amazing—you really do think of everything!”
Ye Jianhua chimed in, “That’s what they call ‘planning in the tent, winning a thousand miles away’!”
“Enough with the flattery, you two… I’m not nearly as brilliant as you think I am!” Li Yi said.
“Hahaha, brother-in-law, you’re being too modest!” Jiang Longcheng said.
However, Li Yi replied calmly, “I’m not being modest. Do you really think the Du family doesn’t know we’re using them to take down the Zhang family?”
“Uh… they know?” Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua exchanged glances, both looking completely baffled.
“Of course they know. The Du family is able to strut around the capital—there’s no way they wouldn’t see through such a simple scheme!” Li Yi said.
“If they saw through it, then why did they… why didn’t they do anything? Isn’t that just playing right into our hands?” Jiang Longcheng asked, puzzled.
“Heh, the reason is simple: we’re not playing a covert scheme—we’re playing an open one!”
“An open strategy?”
“It means using the current situation to our advantage—without affecting others or relying on them—to achieve our goals openly and above board.”
Li Yi continued, “Take this situation, for example. Not only did the Du family suffer casualties in their clash with the Jiang, Ye, and Lin families, but they also took a massive hit—they’ve been utterly humiliated.”
“They’re desperate for a way out and a target to assert their authority, to demonstrate the Du family’s strength. That’s why, even though the Du family knows full well we’ll be the ones reaping the benefits, they have no choice but to take action against the Zhang family.”
Although Li Yi had explained it quite simply, Jiang Longcheng still shook his head and said, “I don’t quite get it, but I know you’re truly formidable, brother-in-law!”
Ye Jianhua, however, stood there dumbfounded, a pensive look on his face!
After a long moment, he finally spoke up: “So what should we do next?”
“Let nature take its course. We’ll wait and see how things play out!”
Then Li Yi added, “Anyway, we’re not at a disadvantage here. Du Haicheng is dead, and Zhang Ergou and Zhu Qiwen have all suffered as a result. Now, aside from watching out for the Du family’s retaliation, we don’t need to worry about anything else!”
“Alright! I understand!”
Just then, Jiang Longcheng chimed in, “Brother-in-law, Director Tan and Sister-in-law An Hong came to see me this morning!”
“What happened?”
“They said the weather is about to get warmer, and wool coats, Zhongshan suits, and blazers aren’t really suitable for summer. So they asked me to check with you if you could come up with a few more styles of summer clothing!” Jiang Longcheng explained.
“Alright, I’ll go back and give it some serious thought. Once I’ve got the designs ready, I’ll get in touch with the factory!”
Li Yi agreed to this without hesitation; after all, it was no trouble at all for him.
With decades of life experience from his past life stored in his mind, he had a clear understanding of the clothing styles popular among ordinary people in this era. All he had to do was dig up those market-tested designs—it wouldn’t take much time at all.
“Hahaha, I really can’t thank you enough, brother-in-law! If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know!” Jiang Longcheng said happily.
Li Yi suddenly thought of something and immediately said, “Come to think of it, I actually do have something I need your help with!”
“What is it?”
“Help me find a middle school!”
“Why do you need to contact a school? Who wants to go to school? Is it our little sister?” Jiang Longcheng asked.
“I don’t need to worry about Xiao Xue. I’m looking for a school for Juanzi—preferably one that’s not too far from our place!” Li Yi said.
“That’s easy. I’ll look into it as soon as I get back. Since the school year just started, it won’t interfere with her classes!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Okay, got it. Juanzi is in eighth grade!”
“Got it…”
Just as they were talking, the door to the private room swung open, and immediately they saw Third Sister Li Na walk in carrying a platter piled high with all kinds of meats and vegetables…
…………..